Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania, he was also the uncle of Betsy Ross, who is credited with making the first American Flag. Born in New Castle, Delaware, he studied law and moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he set up a law practice. One of his first clients was Anne Lawler, a pretty young woman that he fell in love with and married in 1751. They would have a daughter and two sons. From 1768 to 1776, he served in the Pennsylvania Assembly, where he often opposed the Royal Governor. For a long time, he opposed American independence, but in 1774, he changed his mind and began to support the patriot cause. In 1776, he helped to draft Pennsylvania’s first constitution. He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, from 1774 to 1777. George had a niece, Betsy Ross, who was an excellent seamstress and lived in Philadelphia. Along with George Washington and Robert Morris, the three men met her to ask her to make up an American flag. According to folklore, it was Betsy who decided to use five-pointed stars instead of the suggested six-pointed stars. Many historians also credit Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey with coming up with the original design, but almost every historian agrees that young Betsy made several American Flags for the new country. During the war, Ross helped to make several treaties with the Indians. In 1779, he was commissioned an admiralty judge for the State of Pennsylvania, serving until his death later that year. Afflicted by severe gout, Ross died in 1779, just three years after signing the Declaration of Independence. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)